The Shining Darkness
by Fang323
Summary: Blood is the first thing she remembered.  A worried face, the second.  The third she will always have beside her, wherever her destiny may lead. A Kakashi/OC fanfiction.
1. First Night

Hi! This is Kakashi323, here front and center (also known as Fang...Yah, just get used to my weird hypocriticalness...)!

I'm sorry that this chapter isn't very funny, but this story is going to be a lot more serious than my other fanfictions. (I have another account on this site, but I don't want my friends making fun of me for writing such a serious story and laugh). But don't worry, there will be funny bits too!

Umm...the only real warnings I have are usually explicit violence, and maybe later on in the fic the rating might have to change to M...(Hey, don't blame me, Kakashi is #!*% hot, you'd do the same too!) But for now, enjoy, and I hope you read to the end. (Which might take a while...I like the details...which really #!*% off my buddies...)

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They were here. I could hear them coming up the stair. Hutched in the farthest corner of my room, I hugged my knees closer to my chest. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying, and squinted my eyes shut.

The screaming downstairs had ended in gurgles of blood. I didn't want to believe that my parents were dead. They were still fighting. They had to be! I kept this thought running through my head as the footsteps drew closer and closer to my door. My eyes flew open when the sound stopped outside. I could hear my breath coming in panicked bursts, my hear pounding ice-cold blood through my body. I crouched into the darkest part of my room even more, a kunai in my little fist, my only weapon. The door sprung open, and a ninja dressed in all black stepped into my room. I narrowed my eyes, and with as much force as I could muster, leaped out of my corner, kunai at the ready. It was a fruitless venture.

The man grabbed my wrist and twisted it as he moved the kunai silently from my hand to his. I yelped in pain as he brought the kunai down on my arm, leaving a deep, bloody wound. I dropped to the ground clutching my arm, ready to let out another scream when his hand clasped around my neck, cutting off my air. He hoisted my little body up off of the ground, bringing me to his eye level. I choked, grabbing at his hand.

"Pathetic…" he whispered through his masked mouth into my ear. He drew his hand back and threw me against the wall, jarring my back and shoulders. I didn't cry out because I was getting the last of my air jacked out of me from the impact. I fell to the floor, stunned, the edges of my vision dancing with sparks. It seemed like an eternity before I drew in a ragged, painful breath into my heaving lungs. The man walked towards me, and I closed my eyes waiting for the finishing blow.

It never came. The sound of metal slashing flesh, a gurgled cry, and the scuffle of feet were registered in my ears. Blood splashed onto my clothes and face. I opened my eyes in surprise.

The attacker was now running toward the window, followed by a yellow blur. His mask was torn off, a slash now running from his left temple to his right cheek across his face, dribbling blood. He looked at me, his eyes a sharp, brilliant green, before jumping out the window. His pursuer watched him run and vanish into thin air.

The other man turned to face me. His eyes widened in concern at the sight of me coughing my guts up on the ground. It took me a moment to realize that the man was my older brother. His clothes were covered in dry blood, and even some of his spiky, golden hair was tainted. I felt his arms around me and pull me into a griping hug.

Only then did I realize the magnitude of what had just happened.

"Minato-nii!" I cried, my small fists clutching the fabric of his shirt. Tears unbidden were coming to my eyes. Minato-nii held me close, one hand stroking my matted, dirty hair. He brought his hand away from my left arm, and his eyes widened at the sight of the blood.

"Kazuri! You're injured!" Minato-nii exclaimed. He quickly took the arm of my shirt and tore a strip from it. Pushing up my other sleeve from the wound, he bound the cut tightly to slow the blood flow. I wiped my tears from my cheeks with my good arm. Nato-nii hugged me again, his cheek pressed against mine.

"I thought I was too late…Kazuri-chan, thank the heavens you're alive."

I relaxed for the first time that night, safe as I could possibly be in his arms. Nothing else was going to hurt me tonight. The door slammed open, and I grabbed onto Minato-nii's jacket in fright. Two men, with Konoha ninja headbands around their foreheads ran in.

"Minato-san! Your parents! They're-" one of them started to say, but my older brother gave him an empty, mournful look.

"Minato-san….I'm sorry." The other sighed in agreement. Minato-nii stood up and faced the two men.

"The safest place for Kazuri right now is…Hatake-san's place. That's all that matters."

"But sir! The assassin is getting away as we speak!" the man on the right exclaimed.

"There's nothing we can do about that now! My little sister is all that's left! And I'm going to do all that I can to keep her safe." Minato-nii turned, and bent on one knee in front of me. He grabbed the blanket off my bed and wrapped it around my shoulders. Only then did I realize how badly I was shaking; whether from past fight of from the coldness of the room, I didn't know. Slipping one hand behind my lets and his other around my shoulders, Nato-nii picked me up off the ground and brought me to his shoulder. One of my shoes had fallen off in all the excitement, but I was too exhausted to care. Minato-nii moved quickly to the stairs, followed by the two ninja. Once downstairs, he ran to the door to the living room.

"Close your eyes, Kazuri-chan." He whispered in my ear. He opened the door; I meant to do as he said, but a little voice nudged me to look.

Blood. So much blood. An especially dark puddle came from the wall to my right. My eyes widened, and I clamped my mouth shut. A body was pinned to the middle of the wall by a large shuriken, blood running down it in rivets. Where the head should have been was a bloody stump. My eyes involuntarily searched the flood for the body part. My shocked gaze drew me to the body lying on the floor. His arm had been ripped off, and his clothes had been torn to shreds. But the thing that caught my horrified attention was that his head had been twisted three-quarters around. Next to his head lay the head of the woman's body. They stared at each other with wide open, agonized eyes. Their faces twisted in horror, their hair flung about, the puddles on the floor…all of it went away when my eyes locked onto the bigger picture.

These were my parents. The people who I loved with all my heart. My father's body lay on the floor. My mother's head lay separated from her own. Their eyes, which once held warmth and kindness, now were felled with panic and pain. Their mouths were no longer smiling and laughing; rather, they were grotesquely twisted into silent scream of horror.

"Kaa-san! Tou-san!' I yelled at the top of my lungs. I scrambled at Nato-nii's firm grip, trying to get down. I was frantic. I couldn't just believe my parents were dead. I wouldn't. Nato-nii held me fast in his arms as he rushed for the front door.

"NO! Put me down, put me down, put me down! Kaa-san! Tou-san!" I furiously hit at Minato-nii's shoulder, angry tears beginning to spill out of my eyes. Nato-nii's hands only tightened around my struggling body. He shoved the door open and rushed out of the murder scene, into the bitter cold night. Without the visual in front of me, my struggles became feeble and soon ceased altogether.

Nato-nii's voice whispered, "Its okays" and "Calm, Zuri-chans" and slowly, my breathing quieted, but the tears continued to run unhindered down my face. I wasn't going to forget the scene I had just witnessed for the rest of my life. I closed my eyes.

Drops of cold fell around me, and on me. Dimly in my mind, I knew that it was raining. Minato-nii was running now, the two other ninja were following behind. The wind blasted against me, and I shivered despite myself. My right foot was tingling with cold; I should have grabbed that shoe.

I opened my eyes to see building literally flying past my vision. Nato-nii was going fast…I could see behind Minato's back the ninja were trying to keep up with his speed to no avail. I laid my cheek against Nato-nii's ninja vest and curled up tighter.

I got used to the cold raindrops hitting the side of my face. A warm drop fell on my forehead, and I looked up through half-lidded eyes at Minato.

He was crying. My older brother was crying. The strongest person I knew, my idol, was hurting. I glimpsed our parents in my mind again, and realized that Nato-nii was shocked too. He shared what I felt.

That thought stayed with me even as he stopped in front of a house's door. Nato-nii didn't have to knock; the door opened to show a taller man in the doorway. He wore a headband, and a ponytail of silver hair cascaded down his back.

"Minato, you made it!" he sounded relieved. He moved out of the door frame for Minato-nii to pass. I saw him nod at the two followers, and they disappeared into the rain. With a snap, the silver-haired man closed and locked the door.

I was in a living room of sorts; it was sparsely furnished but for a blue couch and matching recliner chair and a wooden table low to the ground in the middle. A fire crackled in the fireplace, and slowly, I felt my body begin to thaw out. Minato-nii walked to the couch and sat me down on it. He removed the blanket from my body, and I fully felt the chill that had encompassed me from the very beginning.

"Get her closer to the fire; it looks like she's frozen." The silver-haired man said. Minato helped me over to sit in front of the table.

"She's a mess…Minato…what happened?"

My older brother proceeded to tell him the short version of what I had seen that night. I stared at the crackling flames, entranced by the never ceasing movement of each entwining, circling tendril of heat. I didn't pay attention to the noise of the conversation; my mind was on other things.

"-Parents?" asked the taller man, and I snapped into the conversation. I turned around to see Nato-nii shake his head slightly, his face a wave of pain.

I felt a twinge of it on my arm, and dimly recalled the kunai blade that had slashed through my skin. I got up from my seat by the fire and walked half-barefoot to Minato. He pulled me onto his lap, laying my head against his chest.

"No. Kazuri was the only one left. Even then, I was almost too late."

"It was a good idea to bring her here. She looks tired. I'll get Kakashi to come down here. He can take care of her."

Minato-nii nodded, and sat me in the middle of him and the other man. I was warm enough now, and I watched the older man get up with more attention than I had before. He went to a door and opened it, calling for Kakashi.

I absently wondered what this Kakashi person was like. Was he older than me? I was only four, so I assumed so. Kaa-san and Tou-san always bragged about me not being normal; they were going to send me to the ninja academy even at my age. I could do even the simplest of ninja techniques with relative ease, much better than most twelve-year olds at this time. They called me a genius. I felt like a freak.

I didn't want to go to the ninja academy for that reason. Yes, there would be people my age, but most of them would treat it as a daycare of something. Nato-nii was the only one I felt comfortable with. He wouldn't try to treat me like a stupid little kid. He was 18, a leaf jonin, and had an annoyingly amount of missions, but he always managed to make time for me. He was my best friend.

So when I heard footsteps on the stairs, and was the older man step aside, I grasped for his hand without thinking. Nato-nii squeezed back and gave me a reassuring smile. My focus was drawn to the floor, where a shadow was growing larger as the steps sounded softly. I held my breath, expecting a teenager that was a higher-ranked ninja.

A boy stood there. A small, young boy. He looked my age, four or five, and looked to be only a little taller than I was. Something about him made me feel more comfortable, even drew me to him. I let go of Nato-nii's hand, and hopped off the couch

"Kazuri-chan, this is my son, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi came closer to me, and instantly, something flared inside of me. I took a good look at this newcomer who intrigued me so. Kakashi had a cute face, in my mind. His small nose and straight-lined mouth seemed to fit his face perfectly. His hair was the most amazing silver; the same color as his father's but it somehow just seemed…right on him. It tilted to the left side of his head, spiking up in the most random places, but it seemed to add to his look in a positive way. I wanted nothing more than to touch. Just touch it. I didn't know why.

His eyes were what grabbed my attention last, but they held it the longest. They were an onyx, so deep I felt I could fall in and lose myself in them, so dark, it was hard to see his pupils. His eyelids were only partly open; a little more than halfway, and his lashes were the perfect length. Just by looking at this boy named Kakashi, I could see he wasn't an ordinary boy. He was like me.

"Hello." A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and it came from none other than Kakashi's mouth. I realized I had been outright staring at him, and ducked my head in embarrassment. I didn't respond. Instead, I took a breath and raised my head to look face-on at him, and I swear, he almost smiled.

"Kakashi-kun, why don't you take Kazuri-chan upstairs and help her clean up? She's going to be staying with us for a while, so we had better put her up in your room for now." Kakashi's father said, he talked like he would to a much older person, which reaffirmed my theory on the boy.

Wait…Stay? I was…staying here? I whipped around towards Nato-nii who was still sitting couch.

"Stay? But…Nato-nii…I thought we were going to go home?" I asked. Minato shook his head slowly.

"Right now, this is the best place for you, Zuri-chan. It's safe. Now please, go with Kakashi."

I looked at the boy, still standing a little inside the doorway.

"But…you're staying too, right?" I asked. Minato-nii sighed. "Not right now, Kazuri. I have-"

My eyes got wide, and I ran to the couch and scrambled onto his lap.

"No! No, you have to stay! You have to! Nato-nii, Nato-nii, promise me you'll stay!" My voice grew desperate, but I didn't care. He needed to stay. I needed him to stay! Minato-nii wrapped his arms around me and hugged me gently.

"Only for a little bit. I have to talk with Hatake-san alone now, and then I to go, for a little while. Zuri-chan, you know I would never lie to you."

Blue eyes met my green as we looked at each other, until I hugged him again.

"You'll be back, right? Soon?" I asked, my voice muffled by his vest.

"Oh course." And that was all it took. He gave me a kiss on my forehead, and set me down on the ground. Only a little reluctantly, I walked back over to Kakashi. I turned around to see Minato's trusting blue eyes.

"Promise?"

Nato-nii laughed kindly at this, his mouth splitting into that wide grin I knew so well. "Promise."

PREVIEW

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I shook my head violently, and turned to face down at my arm. The way Kakashi talked made me feel like a little kid. Alright, I was a little kid, but Kakashi couldn't be much older, so he had no right to talk! I was gonna watch whether I liked it or not, just to show him I was…stronger than I appeared to be.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

I spent a lot of time on this chapter...Had the whole thing in my head since...well...yeah...sorry if I use big words, I find that the fanfic is much more interesting with them in my opinion. You don't have to agree...just deal with it...

I pretty much just started writing this fic to do Kakashi some justice. He is arguably the best character in Naruto at this very moment, in either the anime or the manga.

Reviews are very much appreciated, and flames are even more so! I really want to increase my writing skills, and telling me how much I suck at this or that does actually help me. If you, the reader, also have ideas of what should happen next as well (Psh, I don't even know where the heck i'm going with this story), I will listen to your ideas and consider them to the extreme.

Thank you very much,

-Fang (My signature name for everything I do ^_^)


	2. Silence is Golden

Hey, Everyone, Fang here. Sorry I didn't post sooner, Fall Play was almost over, I haven't slept for 36 hours and counting, and If this chapter's a bit weird...eh. But please enjoy, Kakashi-fans, and anyone else who reads this. I'm going to get some sleep...

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"You'll be back, right? Soon?" I asked, my voice muffled by his vest.

"Oh course." And that was all it took. He gave me a kiss on my forehead, and set me down on the ground. Only a little reluctantly, I walked back over to Kakashi. I turned around to see Minato's trusting blue eyes.

"Promise?"

Nato-nii laughed kindly at this, his mouth splitting into that wide grin I knew so well. "Promise."

Reassured, I faced back to Kakashi, whose mouth was set straight once more, though sparks of laughter seemed to dance in the endless of his eyes. He reached out and touched my hand, sending a tingle up my back unexpectedly, and closed his fingers around my palm. His hand was cool to the tough, I thought, as I wrapped my fingers around his. We walked out of the room side by side, a warm feeling spreading throughout my body.

I turned around at the last second, to see Minato's face was solemn once more as he began to speak. Kakashi closed the door.

There was a hallway in the adjourning room, and a flight of stairs going up on the right. Kakashi led me up this flight of stairs, his hand still in mine. Once upstairs, he led me to a bathroom on the left. He didn't talk, which was a big relief to me. I didn't want to talk very much at the moment, and even if I did, I wouldn't know what to say. Kakashi flicked on the light and released my hand, going for a cabinet. I took my time looking around. Bathtub, toilet, cabinet, all of the usual accessories necessary. To my left was a mirror, and here I took a glance at what I looked like now.

I was a mess. Dirt mixed with blood covered my face and arms, and my clothes were dried with blood, at least the parts that weren't torn. My hair was unrecognizable, its original color completely hidden. Even I was ashamed to look at myself, and when Kakashi turned around from the cabinet, I blushed in embarrassment.

Either he didn't see the red on my cheeks from all the grime that covered then or he cunningly pretended not to notice, I didn't know. But I was more than thankful for his silence about my looks.

"Hop onto the toilet." He said quietly, and I did. Kakashi stood in front of me, eyeing my arm quietly. I forgot that Minato had wrapped it in the tattered remains of my shirt. Now Kakashi bent over it, carefully untying the rag from my arm. Most of the makeshift bandage detached from my arm without much effort, but once he reached the actual cut, I felt a pulling on the edges of my skin, and jerked my arm away from Kakashi' ministrations. He let go in surprise. The fabric still slung stubbornly to my arm.

"Look, if you're going to do anything first, you need to get that wound open to air. Then we can clean it of any infection." Kakashi said matter-of-factly. I still hugged my arm to my side. He sighed.

"Ok, I'm not a medic or anything, but even I know that you're probably gonna lost your arm if you don't get it disinfected."

His black eyes stared into mine, and without thinking, I slowly moved closer to him, my arm in front of me. He gently grasped the hardened cloth in one hand, and gripped my arm with his other.

"It's gonna hurt, but you don't need to watch if you don't want to."

I shook my head violently, and turned to face down at my arm. The way Kakashi talked made me feel like a little kid. Alright, I was a little kid, but Kakashi couldn't be much older, so he had no right to talk. I was gonna watch whether I liked it or not, just to show him I was…stronger than I appeared to be.

Even though I was mentally prepared, I wasn't physically, so when Kakashi ripped off the material, it hurt like #!*% . I clamped my lips shut and bit my tongue to keep from making any sound, and tried not to flinch. The gash in my arm had opened up again, and blood was oozing out.

"Hold this against it." Kakashi held out a damp washcloth and I took it quickly. He began unwinding a clean white bandage slowly.

Silence filled the room. The only thing was, neither of us apparently felt the need to fill it. The companionable quiet was actually quite calming as I sat there holding the washcloth to my arm. If Kakashi had been one of the types of people who did nothing but talk, I wouldn't have like him as much. But it's not like I liked him, not at all! I barely knew the guy, I told myself.

Kakashi took the cloth from me, already stained with blood, and rubbed disinfectant into it before once again pressing it to me. My wound started stinging, and I resisted the urge to pull away again. A few seconds later, Kakashi was wrapping the bandage tightly around my arm. Snapping the clips onto it, he sat back and looked at me.

"That should do it." Don't get it wet now, ok?"  
I nodded slowly. Kakashi stood up and went to the bath. He turned the handle, and let the water flow into it.

"There are towels behind you. Soap's here, washcloth here." He pointed at the objects he mentioned. He turned to leave, and I suddenly felt a margin of panic. I stood up hurriedly and instinctively reached for him, but he turned around as if he knew I was there.

"I'll put a set of clothes outside the door when you're ready."

The calmness in his eyes, gave me a sense of peace, and I relaxed. Without another look, Kakashi turned and closed the door.

Only then did I realize how cold I still was. The warmth of the bath water was more than calling me. I put all thoughts of the night in the back of my mind and started to struggle out of my clothes. They were drying, but were quite blood-splattered and stiff where they had dried. Moving my arm hurt too badly, so it took a few moments to get my shirt around it. I turned the bathwater off and stepped into the steaming tub.

It felt like heaven. My aching muscles knotted out in the sauna-like water. The large bruises on my neck and back were numbed of pain. I made sure to keep my upper arm out of the water as Kakashi had instructed me to. I t was as if all my worries melted away in that delicious heat.

After the warmth of the water had diminished into steam, I let the plug out reluctantly and reached for a towel with my good arm. I dried my small body quietly. A thump sounded outside the door, and I jumped.

"I left you clothes." Kakashi's voice came from outside, and I heard footsteps as he quietly left. Wrapping the towel around my body, I opened the door and looked at the ground, seeing a neatly folded bundle of clothes. I grabbed them and shut the door.

There was a long-sleeved black shirt that was a little too big for me; along with the pants. They were Kakashi's clothes, and he was an inch or two taller than me. Once I finished dressing, I wrung my hair out in the sink. Now that all the grime and blood was washed out, my hair was returning to its natural blonde. Even still damp, it was starting to spike up in the Namikaze way. My green eyes stared back at me in the mirror, taking a look at the now stinging cut on my cheek. Using the materials still on the counter, I bandaged my cheek before remembering to let the old bathwater drain.

I found a comb and brushed through my hair, trying to make it look at least half-way decent. (My hair is awesome…except when I can't do anything with it). When I finally opened the door thirty minutes later since I went in, the hallway was dark. To the left and right, it seemed to stretch on and on. It was daunting to me, but I traced my steps back to the stairs, and then down to the living room.

Light was still shining under the door, but no noise was coming through. I cracked open the door. The room was empty but for Minato, sitting in the chiar with his head in his hands. I walked over to him quietly and laird my tiny hand on his own. He looked at me with tired eyes, his solemn face molding into a quiet smile.

"How do you feel, Zuri-chan?" He asked softly, his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged. Nato-nii touched my bandaged arm .

"Kakashi fixed you up nicely, didn't he?" I nodded. Minato laughed a little. "He's a good kid."

I lifted my arms up to him, and he lifted me up into his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, he rocked me back and forth in silence. My head on his chest, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander for a few seconds.

"Minato…You need to get over to the Lord Hokage." Hatake-san's voice pierced through the peaceful moment.

"I'll be there in a minute." Nato-nii called. He started to stroke my hair.

"Kazuri…You're all I have left. We're all each other has."

I looked at him blindly. He pressed his forehead to mine, eyes shut.

"I promise you, Kazuri, I promise…I won't leave you alone in this world."

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PREVIEW

"Why don't you cry?" I heard the voice from the other side of the room. I didn't look at him, but I was confused all the same.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS:

Ugh...This is not one of my favorite chapters. But I had to find a way to introduce the major relationship, if you people could not tell already, and so I took elements from Vampire Knight and a few other mangas to come up with this. If it was boring, I'm sorry. I'll try to get the action going again soon, but I like focusing on the mental stuff and what's going through people's heads to drive a story along, not just randomly killing and mugging every person to get action in.

If I don't post soon, Sorry...!

-~-Hey, Tettsui! Thanks for the review, ginormous words are my specialty. And Thanks about my writing style, you should see my first fics where I thought it was terrible...I'm glad I've come a long way. Keep reading and enjoy!

-~- What up, Mitternachtdressage! Awesome. I'm glad people approve of my aesthetic and innovated word choices. Please continue to read! ^_^

Thanks, and see ya all later!

-Fang


	3. Breaking Point

"I throw my homework in the air sometimes, Singin AAAA-OH, I'll take a zero!"

Sorry about that...Fall play's over, I haven't slept in 38 hours, and Have had way too much coffee. And I only do that with Math homework...

Well, enough about that. Here's the next chapter, and enjoy. It's kinda depressing, so sorry...

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After Minato had left for the Hokage's I was alone with the strange white-haired man, Hatake-san. He looked at me with kind eyes.

"Do you want something to eat? You've had a long day."

I shook my head. The first thing I was was tired, and the last thing I needed was food. Hatake-san kneeled next to me, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"You probably just want to go to bed, huh?"

I nodded. This guy seemed to see into my head. Hatake-san lifted me up to his shoulder and stood up.

"Come on. You'll be in Kakashi's room until we can clean out the spare bedroom."

He took me to the aforementioned room. Flicking on the light, I was then looking at a plain, but tastefully furnished. A bed sat in the back-right corner of the room; a desk sat in the left. A makeshift bed sat on the floor, and I assumed that that was my bed. I was surprised when Hatake-san took me to the bigger one. He set me down on the bed an started to pull back the dark blue streaked with lightning coverlet.

"Kakashi-kun is giving you his bed for the time being." He said, pulling the blankets up around me as I laid my head on my pillow. I remembered my own father tucking me in before..what? What happened? Why was I in Kakashi's house when I could go home?

Hatake-san kissed me on the forehead and closed the door, leaving me in the twilight of the unfamiliar room. I couldn't sleep. Something was keeping me away from the bliss of sleep, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what I was supposed to remember. I lay there with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling, until that position got uncomfortable, in which I moved to my side facing the wall. I don't know how long I lay there in the dark. It seemed like forever, and yet as if no time had passed at all.

A light shined in behind me, and diminished as the door opened, and closed slightly. I didn't move. I heard covers rustling on the floor, as the boy slipped into his make-shift bed. Silence filled the room once again.

"Why don't you cry?"

My eyes opened wide at the sound of Kakashi's voice. I didn't understand. He sat up in his bed, covers moved back.

"What're you talking about?" I asked slowly, shifting to my other side to face the wall.

"Why don't you just scream at the world? Isn't that what kids are supposed to do?"

"Well, I'm not an ordinary kid, so don't get your hopes up. And what would I cry about anyway?"

"Your parents are dead."  
"…No, they're not."

"You know they are. Stop pretending."

"No! They're not dead!"

Kakashi came right up to my face and twisted me around so I was facing him.

"Stop lying to yourself! They're dead, and there's nothing you can do about it! Denying it is just going to make it worse!" he yelled into my face.

The room fell deathly silent. Kakashi's hard breathing from screaming at me was the only thing audible in the room. I lay still in the bed, he standing next to me, gripping my shoulders. Looking into his eyes, my breaking point finally cracked. I stared into his eyes, but my tone had completely changed.

"I saw them…they were on the floor. I saw them."

I turned away from his grasp and faced the wall, wiping my own eyes with the back of my hand.

"I know…I know they're….they're gone."

I choked on my voice, tears that I tried to stop now unstoppable. My parents were dead. I would never see them again. Their faces passed through my mind, twisted with horror and bloodied. My voice came out in sporadic, little gasps.

"I – I can't see them – l-like I used to – they're dead…I can see their f-faces- I c-can't help th-them!"

I closed my eyes, trying to make them go away, but the details only increased. A small cry came unbidden from my throat, and I was fully crying. I clutched the blankets tighter to me in an attempt to calm myself, but it seemed like nothing was ever going to work. My life was shattered into thousands of pieces scattered all over my mind. My world was over, and I didn't know what to do now but cry.

I felt a new pressure on the left side of the bed. It settled next to me, but I still didn't turn around, so obsessed was I with my plight. I didn't care if Kakashi knew I was crying, I was four, for crying out loud, I had a right. A hand started stroking my hair calmly and gently, though it did nothing to console me in the slightest. When I drew in another shaky breath, that hand reached over and wrapped around my own, squeezing it once.

Involuntarily, I squeezed back and turned in the bed to find Kakashi lying next to me. Refusing to look at his face, I buried my face in his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist. Kakashi held me tightly, rubbing circle in my back and continuing to run through my hair with his other hand.

He didn't tell me to calm down, or to quiet. He let me get his shirt almost sopping wet and said nothing. His chin rested on the top of my head, and his chest rose and fell with the slow, deep breaths he took.

I don't know how long I yelled at the world, at the people in it to bring my parents back, but Kakashi was by my side. That was all I needed. That was all I remember as I sank into oblivion.

I dreamed of my parents that night. I dreamed of Minato. I dreamed of what life was like before that night. We were in the meadow next to the Nara forest, the blanket spread out for star gazing. The sun was nearing the horizon, throwing beautiful shades of pinks, purples, and oranges across the twilight sky like a water-paint landscape.

Mother and Father were laughing, smiling a few yards away from me, gesturing at me to join them. A bright light encased them, so beautiful and brilliant I couldn't help but smile. I wanted that light too. I wanted to look like them.

I started to run to them, to let them pick me up in their arms and hug me tightly and kiss my forehead. I wanted them to tell my how special I was, how much they loved me. I ran for them, but –

A hand gripped my wrist tightly and held me back. Another hand joined it in picking me up, and I was face to face with Minato-nii. The light was not surrounding him, and I touched his face in confusion. I looked back at Mother and Father, who were walking away slowly, still calling for me without voices. I reached for them again, but Minato-nii took my hand and brought it to his shoulder. He turned and started walking away from the clearing.

"Minato-nii! What about Kaa-san and Tou-san? We need to go back! We're forgetting them!" I looked at him in misunderstanding.

Minato simply stared into my eyes, and shook his head before continuing to draw me further away from them. I stared behind his back, watching two of the most precious people in the world become brighter and brighter, and then in a flash of white, disappear altogether.

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PREVIEW:

A tingle of chill shot through my bare foot, and a flast of memory swept through my head. I knew where exactly I had to go. And I didn't care who tried to stop me.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

Hey, Tettsui, thanks for the review. I had NO CLUE what the F*** i was talking about during that whole bandage scene, so I just wung (Winged? Is that a word?) It. I'm glad you like the thought processes, it seems like in many fics i've read, I haven't seen much of it, and I think it's one of the most important parts of the story.

And to ZoeHatake, on the first chapter (Since i'm too lazy to bother going back and editing) Thanks! Wow, I didn't think I would elicit that reaction, but I'm glad it's touched you that way. I tried to make it sad...Hopefully it worked... Hope you keep reading!

AND NOW TO OTHER THINGS! LIKE...UMMM...yeah, I'll think of something.

Ok, so this chapter was REALLY short in my notebook, and I don't allow my chapters to be less than 1000 words long. So I added the dream scene in about 5 minutes. I like the metaphor a lot...Pretty good for such a short span of sleep-deprivated time.

After the next chapter, all of the background information that I have planned to show right now will have been completed. Please stay with me...

-Fang


	4. Healing Beginnings

Hey everyone, Fang here. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, Term paper in History is killing my butt. But, as promised, here you go!

(Kakashi's an F-ing hot man and don't you forget it.) Sorry, just had to get that out of my system.

* * *

When I woke up, The first thing I saw was Kakashi's blue shirt. He was still lying next to me, his hand on my own, sleeping soundly. He looked so peaceful, his hair still unruly as last night.

Resisting the urge to run my fingers through it, I crawled out from the warmth of the blankets, and over Kakashi to get out of bed. I tried not to wake him, and I think I succeeded in that since he did not wake up. Stepping across the floor silently, I shut the door to his room, and ran down the stairs to the living room. The house was completely silent; it looked like no one was awake yet. I spotted a suitcase now lying on the small brown table that wasn't there the night before. I walked over to that suitcase and undid the clasps, lifting open the top as it squeaked. Inside was pretty much my entire wardrobe, and a few of my picture, and one pair of sandals. I let out a sigh. Looks like I wasn't going anywhere for a while.

Wait a second…I owned two pairs of sandals…where was my other pair? I shut the suitcase and ran up to the bathroom via the stairs. I tripped a few time over my overly long pant legs, but got there without much trouble. Remembering that people were still sleeping a little late, I slammed the door open with quite a bit of force. There was my shoe on the floor where I had left it the night before. I sat on the edge of the tub and slid and buckled it onto my foot. I wiggled my toes in it, trying to remember where my other one was.

A tingle of chill shot through my bare foot, and a flash of memory swept through my head. I hopped off the tub and creaked downstairs towards the front door. I heard a few doors opening, and my heart jumped as Hatake=san, I suspected, was getting up. I ran to the suitcase, opened it up, and dug through the top of the suitcase. My hand cut on a sharp edge, and I moved my hand to the side to grasp the handle. I pulled it out.

A strangely shaped three-pronged kunai was in my hand, and I smiled. Leaving the rest of the stuff behind, I ran to the front door as footsteps sounded on the stirs. Not caring who heard me now, I swung the door open and ran out into the road, one shoe on, the kunai in my hand. I heard a pounding behind me, but didn't look behind. Breathing hard, I forced my legs harder, the sharp rocks digging into my foot. The sound behind me didn't let up either.

I moved the kunai to my right hand and remember the small cut where I grabbed it in the suitcase. I looked at the blood, and glanced back at the kunai's handle. Wrapped around it was a piece of paper with kanji written on it. I smeared the blood onto that kanji, and took my finger and sucked the rest of the blood off of it. I skidded to a stop by a large tree and turned around. It was not Hatake-san who had been following me. It was Kakashi. He was running at me with reckless abandon, his hair flying everywhere. But it was too late. I could feel the pull of the jutsu before he would be able to reach me. I heard his cry of my name before the scene in front of me was replaced by my room.

The paper on the kunai held a jutsu unique to my family, who specialize in instantaneous teleportation. My brother, Minato, was so far one of the best at it. He had given me two kunais and asked me to take one with me whenever I traveled. These kunais allowed me to perform a modified version of this teleportation. I would be transported from one kunai to the net with just a bit of blood. I kept the other kunai in my room on my shelf, and I was at present moment standing right next to it. I grabbed the kunai and ran to the doorway into the hall.

There was my shoe. It was in the middle of the hallway about halfway down. I ran to it, reached down and picked it up.

As I looked at its blue surface, I noticed darker stains splattered randomly over the shoe. Blood. I grasped the shoe tighter in my left hand, the kunai in my right. I let the images of the night before flood though me without remorse of them ever happening. I hugged the shoe to my chest, and stood up, making to turn back to my room when a door creaked behind me, slow and whining. I paused, my heart rate speeding up exponentially. I shifted the kunai in my hand and whipped around, the kunai zipping from my hand and into the wall with a crunch of plaster and wood. No one was there.

I blinked. I could have sworn….never mind.

The door next to my kunai stuck in the wall had been slightly opened. I walked towards it, whispering to myself that not for the life of me was I going down there. I wrapped my fingers around the handle of the throwing blade and jerked it out. Plaster bits fell in a cloud of snow-white dust to the floor. I wiped the powder off the blade with my sleeve, and then while shaking THAT off; I bumped against the door, opening it a little more. The same creaking sound sent shivers up my spine. I turned around to face the open door to the stairs. I knew I should be going back before Hatake-san or anyone else got angry with me, but something in my heart made my hand push open the door.

I stepped down the stairs, one hand on the railing, the stairs complaining under my feet. My other hand searched for the light switch while my feet sought not to trip once I got to the bottom. In the dark, I finally found it, but when I flicked it once, no light came on. Once, twice more, still no light. I finally gave up and moved into the hallway to the right, heading toward the living room. The room where I was my parents…

I couldn't stop myself from opening that last door.

I braced myself for another gruesome sight, but it never came. The entire room was empty of any human except fro myself, living or dead. Blue chakra strands covered the outside door, "CAUTION" written all over it. Three outlines of the same chakra were on the floor and the left wall. I reached my hand out and lightly touched the azul strand closest to me on the wall. If fogged up as my hand passed though it, and when I drew away, it snapped back into place with a sizzle of energy.

The design on the wall made of the chakra showed the outline of a head-less body. I glanced at the floor: the other two outlines portrayed one more body, grotesquely twisted, and that missing head right next to it. The blood covering the furniture, the walls and the floor had dried. The only light other than the glowing chakra strings was from the front window to the right, the only one that had not yet been boarded up.

I was so very small in this familiar, yet unknown place covered in blood. This wasn't what I remembered. Even thinking about how my parents had died, I couldn't conjure up a single tear; something in me told me it would be of no use. As I walked and tiptoed through the room, I knew I could never go back to the way it used to be. Even if I tore down the shutters, the light could not destroy the impending darkness in my heart.

A whoosh of air blew against my side, and I felt something war crash into me. I fell to the floor, and whatever bumped me fell right on top. My kunai was knocked out of my hand on impact, and I heard the clattering of metal skid across the floor. The next thing I knew, I was looking at Kakashi's shirt pressing down on my face.

"Kazuri? I found you! What are you doing here? What is this place? How-"

"Mmrh mrg omf megh." I muffled.

"What?"  
"MMRH MRG OMF MEGH!"  
"Oh…Sorry."

He hastily moved off of me, and I could breathe again. After gulping in a few lungfuls, I pushed myself into s sitting position. And when Kakashi offered his hand, I took it and let him pull me up to a stand. I stood there, eyes on the ground while he eyed me top to bottom.

"What were you doing here?" he finally asked. I bent down and picked up my shoe which had flown out of my grasp in the fall.

"I needed to get my shoe." I said simply.

"Yeah, sure. My father would have gotten it for you, there's no reason for you to come here. Is this your house? That wall scroll says 'Namikaze', so I'm assuming- HEY! Don't put it on now, it's bloodstained!"

I was sitting on our couch, stapping on my shoe and Kakashi came rushing over.

"Look, wait until we clean it, and-"

"NO!" I almost yelled at him. He stopped in his tracks, confused.

"No." I said a bit calmer. I snapped the last clasp and stood up.

"I don't want to. It's fine the way it is."

Kakashi was looking at me as if I had gone slightly insane, but said nothing. I walked slowly over to the middle of the room, and stared at the chakra blocked door.

"You're right though. This is my house. Or…It should be."

I stepped to where I dropped the kunai, straight into the outline of my father's body. As I passed through the chakra, I felt the chill of something disturbing and unnamed shoot though my body. I shivered involuntarily. I bent down and grabbed the kunai.

"I don't recognize it anymore. It's dark now." I said to him.

"Everything is." I murmured. Kakashi took a step towards me, but I ignored him.

"Did you know I can't remember even them like I used to? I can't see them smiling, or laughing, or even alive anymore. They're just lying there."

I smirked.

"Why am I even here? I have no one left. What can somebody like me do now? I'm useless. Maybe….this was a sign that I shouldn't even exist."

Kakashi grabbed my arm fiercely and yanked me out of the chakra outline. He whipped me around and grasped my arms to my sides.

"Don't say that. Don't say anything more." He murmured almost viciously. I smiled sadly.

"I'm alone."

"No, You're not!" Kakashi's grip tightened on my arms, his endless eyes smoldering with fire. "Look around you! Yes, your parents are gone, and I'm sorry for that. I really am. But in this world, you still have people who care about you and are here!"

"Really? Like who?" I almost snarled. Kakashi looked at me with incredulity.

"Your brother!"

My eyes flew open. Minato. My brother. Minato. Pictures of him instantaneously flashed though my head unbidden. Minato messing with my hair. Minato helping me secretly toss the baby doll my mom had given me in the trash. Minato swinging me around. Minato holding me when my favorite pet died. Minato laughing. Minato hugging me, Minato with that stupid way-too-happy-for-his-own-good grin on his face that I loved so much. He was my rock, now the one constant left in my life. I could feel Kakashi looking at me, looking at my wide, disbelieving eyes.

"I…forgot? But how….Nato-nii…"

Kakashi didn't say anything. I stared into his eyes again, this time with more light than the first dozen times.

"I…I forgot…..Kakashi…"

"Yeah. Don't do that again, alright? You scared me."

He finally let my arms go. I shook my head a few more time, still clearing away the fog of grief. Kakashi had taken a few step back, glancing around.

"Soooooo…..How do we get out of here now? I used that kunai before, but I think it only works with your blood."

I found my voice again.

"You figured out how it works? Only the Namikaze can use these kunais, you're right."

I stepped right in front of him and pricked my hand again with the kunai.

"Grab onto me."

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

He touched my arm again, but with much less ferocity and much more gentleness. I wrapped my bleeding hand around the kanji, and in a spinning ride, we were once again transported to the large tree. Kakashi-kun looked surprised, but barely.

"I'm going to really have to get used to that."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed for probably the first time since that night. Kakashi's eyes crinkled upwards as he smiled, his teeth gleaming in the bright sunlight. It felt a weight lifted from my shoulders, and in the simplest sense of words, it was ok to be alive again.

"Kazuri-chan! Your brother's here to see you!"

My heart jumped and I dropped the kunai on the ground next to it's brother. I made to run, but a voice stopped me.

"Kazuri?"

I turned to see Kakashi, his hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet, his hair bent on his head even more so.

"I'm here too."

Those few simple words. I almost teared up again, and to cover the, I glomped him right where he stood, knocking he and I back against the tree. I hugged him fiercely, and he laughed.

"Thank you, Kakashi."

He looked up at me and smiled wryly.

"For what?"

I grinned from ear to ear at this boy I barely knew, yet felt I had know all my life.

"For everything."

* * *

PREVIEW

"Huh?"

"I'm enrolling you two into the Academy this year."

...This was going to be GREAT...

* * *

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

...I promised action in this chapter last time, didn't I...Whoops.

Well, you're getting it next chapter.

I have a lot of fun writing this chapter. No, This story is going to go on for a very long time, and yes, I know how i'm going to end it. There just weren't issues addressed in earlier chapters that I needed to get out, so that's what this chapter is for.

I'm trying not to make Kazuri like every other OC out there, and if i'm not doing a good job, TELL ME! Flame me, burn me, freeze me in complaints, I don't care! Just tell me if i'm doing a good job or a bad job.. I appreciate both!

OH YEah!

Tettsui, thanks for that. Yeah, I don't think it matters how accurate it is anyway. I try to make kakashi nice...It's his personality... I'm glad you're liking Minato, he's my tied-for-third favorite character.

C YALL LATER!

-Fang


	5. Reassuring Fights

Hey, there, Fang here. WOOT! I actually publish another chapter! Some people asked to see more of Minato, and their requests have been answered! And, yes, there is some actual action in here.

Please enjoy...

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A month went by without much incident after those first shaky days. Hatake-san was extremely kind to me throughout it, and he almost became a second father to me. Well…maybe not totally. More like an uncle. But I did end up adapting to my new family. Minato-nii went on missions as usual;, he had been a jonin now going for four to five years now. But he still managed to make time to see me as much as possible. Minato still smiled, but it wasn't as bright as it used to be.

I, as well, was doing better. During the day, anyway. I talked more, and seemed like I was getting over some of the horror. I was, slowly. Healing takes longer than a hug. But I was managing.

It was at nights that I began to break. I could block the thoughts of my parents away with the hustle and bustle of the day, but I couldn't stop dreams. Almost every other night, or even oftener, I would wake in a cold sweat, screaming bloody murder. Kakashi usually slept next to me, and my shrieks constantly woke him up. He would hold me tightly until I calmed down. In the beginning of these sleepless nights, Hatake-san would run in to see if I was ok, but as these nights grew more and more frequent, He ended up relying on Kakashi, who would assure he dad that he himself could handle it, to take care of me. I would lie, shivering in Kakashi's arms until I slipped into an uncomfortable slumber.

Over time, the screams dimmed until I would only snap my eyes open breathing insanely hard and fast. For reasons I never, and still have never understood, Kakashi was always awake at the most ungodly hours. He was there for me.

Only now, years later, do I understand why I was so petrified. I could never remember what these dreams were about. I know that something beyond all imagination disturbed and terrified me to no end, but when I woke, I would have no recollection of it at all. Maybe that lapse of memoty was what scared me the most.

But Like I said, I was managing. A month later, I was indeed much improved. When Hatake-san called Kakashi and me from the yard where we were experimenting with shuriken, I was smiling and laughing like any normal kid. When I walked into the living room, a flash of right yellow caught my vision to the right, And I hurled myself into Minato-nii's arms.

He laughed that all-too-familiar laugh as he pressed me tightly to his chest.

"Well, it's good to see you too, Kazuri!" he smiled broadly, and any wave of uncertainty or fear that might have had me at any other given moment escaped into nothingness.

"Nato-nii! What are you doing here? I though your mission was-"

"Well, now it's postponed for a week."

My eyes lit up, and I bounced excitedly on his lap.

"Really? Then-Then what do you want to do?"

I drew in a breath of excitement, unable to contain myself.

"Nato-nii, Nato-nii! Let's get ramen! Ramen, Ramen, Ramen!"

Minato laughed again and held my arms to my sides to keep from killing his lap.

"Why do you want to get ramen so much?" he asked. I turned pointedly to Hatake-san, sitting in the chair next to us.

I pouted. "Because Hatake-san won't buy me any." I said. Hatake-san shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands up in mock despair.

"The last time, she ate two whole bowls! By herself! I swear, that girl is going to eat us out of this house!" he lamented. Minato chuckled.

"Alright, Kazuri, we can go get ramen. But first," he interrupted, seeing ho excited I was already, "I have an important announcement."

He picked me up and put me next to him on the couch as he stood up in front of the fireplace. Kakashi came over and sat next to me. I bent over to him and whispered in his ear, "Do you want to get ramen with us?"

He coked his head back, a gesture I now recognized as him thinking.

"Maybe…I'll think about it."

I huffed and slouched back into the couch. Minato-nii cleared his throat, and began.

"Alright. Um….Hatake-san and I have been talking, and we finally agreed on a course of action for you two."

I sat up, confused by and interested in what he was saying. Minato's face looked as if he was going to tell the best secret in his whole life.

"I and Hatake-san are going to enroll you two into the Ninja Academy!" He gave us his biggest grin.

…What?

I was stunned. The Ninja Academy? He was kidding, right?

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

"Nope!" He crossed his arms, his grin literally splitting his face.

Kakashi remained cool and collected, but I could instinctively feel the excitement and desire pound through him. My reaction was different.

"Nato-nii….I don't' want to!" I clenched my fists. The smile disintegrated from Minato's face and was replaced by one of confusion. Hatake-sans' eyes were on me, and I felt even Kakashi turn a questioning look my way. I couldn't stare any of them in the face. Minato stuttered, and then asked, "Do you want to go get your ramen?"

I looked at him, and sighed. I nodded. Refusing Kakashi's look of reassurance, I strapped on my shoes and followed Minato-nii out of the house.

Instead of pulling out one of his transportation kunai to move us there, he just took my hand in his and began to stroll. I didn't look at his face, but kept my eyes on the ground, earnestly trying to pretend that I was greatly interested in the fact that one of his strides matched three of mine. I doubt it fooled him, but hey, it was better than nothing. We walked in silence, me face down and him staring straight ahead. The sun shone on both us; unconsciously, I felt all the tension of what awaited me melt off my shoulders.

We made our way to one of the stone bridged that went over the river that ran through Konoha. I heard people laughing, talking, conversing. But the deafening quiet of Nato-nii, so uncharacteristic of him, spoke louder than anything else. I couldn't stand the suspense any more. I broke free of Minato's grip and ran to the middle of the bridge, pulling myself up onto the stone wall of it. I let my legs dangle over the side, letting them swing back and forth over the water.

"So…why do you think you don't want to go to the Academy?" I heard Minato's voice behind me. He came to my side and leaned on the wall with his arms crossed. I wasn't getting out of this one.

"I don't know….I just don't."

"Not an explanation…" Minato said half-jokingly. I huffed, and looked up at the sky, blue as the calm ocean, lazy clouds drifting like ships headed nowhere and everywhere.

"…Nato-nii, what if I'm not good enough? What if I wont know anybody? What if they look at me and think I'm a weirdo?"

I looked at him in earnest.

"What if you-"

I didn't say anything more, because Nato-nii was openly laughing. Laughing. I was so confused, and a little frustrated.

"What's so funny? I'm serious!"

I stuck my tongue out at him, which just made him laugh harder. Not the reaction I was going for. I crossed my arms across my chest and stuck out my lower lip. Minato finally stopped busting his gut long enough to breathe normally again, and turned, leaning both arms on the wall next to me.

"Wow, that's a lot of what ifs! Well…to start off, no one will see you as a weirdo because you're just going to have to show them how awesome you are. They'll want to be like you! Believe me, that's nothing you need to worry about."

He paused, chewing on his lip in thought.

"Now about you not knowing anyone, you know that's not true. You'll know someone, Kakashi."

My head snapped up. Kakashi! Of course…

"You two have grown to be pretty good friends in the span of a month, huh? You won't be alone."

I shrugged.

"And for the last one…Hmmmm…." Minato-nii looked up in concentration. Something of an epiphany came over him, and he looked at me with interest.

"Hey, Kazuri, fight me."

I was floored. "Fight you?"

"Yeah." Minato pulled out one of his famous Kunai and jumped back a few feet from me.

"Right now? On this bridge?"

"Better defend yourself."  
He jumped at me, and I hurled myself out of the way, landing on the floor of the bridge. No sooner had my feet touched the ground, Minato was behind me, kunai in hand. I snatched a kunai of my own from my butt pouch and blocked his attack. Metal met metal, clashing loudly. Over and over, he drove towards me and I continuously blocked his attacks. I was breathing hard, he barely at all. There was a reason people were starting to call my brother, "Yellow Flash." I was relying on instinct, and not sight. He was a blur.

Twenty-five seconds past. We were getting nowhere with this kunai battle. Spectators were gathering on either side of the bridge to watch. I made my decision.

On his next kunai attack, I actually took a chance and jumped onto the blade, propelling myself up and into the air over his head.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" I yelled, making the appropriate handsign. Another copy of myself jumped down on him as I landed on the wall, gathering my chakra for another attack. Minato dispatched my clone with a fast, hard punch to her gut, to the shocked viewer's gasps. My clone flew and crashed to the ground, poofing away. I shut my eyes and shivered.

When I opened them a split second later, Minato was in front of me.

He grinned widely. "Good try, Zuri-chan."

With one finger, he pushed me a little backwards. I toppled over the edge of the bridge with a small cry and hit the water on my side. I went under into the cool liquid. After a few moments, I let out the pent up air in my lungs in one frustrated giant bubble before swimming up to break the surface. Many of the spectators were murmuring and looking at me, but were slowly dispersing, realizing that the fight was over. Minato-nii was standing by the bank, watching me with a twinkly in his eyes. He bent and held out his hand to me, which I took.

He pulled me out, and when I was fully on the bank, I turned before he had a chance to stand up and shoved into the river as hard as I could.

He went in with a splash, and when he resurfaced, Nato-nii was laughing hard, water streaming from his hair.

"What was that for?" he asked, pulling himself out of the water. I flopped back onto the grass-covered bank and lay down.

"Now we're even!" I giggled, and he chuckled and lay next to me. Seeing how soaked we both were, I couldn't stop laughing.

He looked at me, mirth and encouragement evident in his eyes.

"And that answers your other 'what if'. You _are_ good enough, good enough to go up against me…and I was only going somewhat easy on you."

I shrugged my shoulders. He was right. I guess I didn't have anything to worry about.

"So will you go?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I will."

He punched me playfully in the shoulder and ruffled my wet hair in jest.

"That's good."

We stared up at the sky in silence together, content.

"Hey, Zuri-chan…what was that last 'what if' you started.

I looked at him, uncertainty clouding my vision.

"What if….What if I disappoint you?"

Nato-nii turned on his side to stare me fully in the face, his tone serious once again.

"Zuri-chan, whatever choice you make, I will always love you. You could never disappoint me."

He rubbed my hair again.

"You'll always be my brilliant, if sometimes annoying, kind, lovable little sister. As long as you stay true to your dreams, I'm happy."

My eyes started getting misty, and I wiped them hastily on my sopping sleeve. I gazed at the Hokage Rock in front of us.

"You know what my dream is, Nato-nii?"

He shook his head. I pushed myself off the ground and stood up. Minato lifted himself onto his elbows.

"My dream is to see your face up there on that rock. And I'm gonna help you get there. I promise."

Nato-nii was speechless, but slowly, he smirked and stood up to hug me.

"Do you want to go get ramen, Zuri-chan?"

I jumped up and down, water droplets flying off me in my excitement.

"Yeah! Yeah! Oh Man! You have no idea how hungry I am!"

As we walked, me on my rant about ramen, I looked at his face.

Minato-nii was smiling.

* * *

PREVIEW

Kakashi and I walked into the classroom at the very end of the hall.

"Hopefully this'll be alright..." I whispered to him. He nudged me in the shoulder.

"It'll be fine." I opened the door.

...Yeah. It wasn't fine at all.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

Awwwww...I love this chapter...it's so cute! I realized that even though Kazuri is quite mature for her age, (She's like, 4) I thought I was writing her a little too mature. So I added a few little kid stuff that I got from watching my sister.

Butt pouch...did i really say that? Well, what else are you supposed to call it? They don't really have a name for it...

I have no idea what the heck i'm going to do while they're in the Academy, So Ideas ARE WELCOME. Thanks!

Tettsui: Thanks a lot. I like Kakashi, and I'm trying to experiment with what he may have been like before his huge life-changing events. Yes, the house scene was creepy, and I'm glad you think it so. I don't watch horror movies, so it was kind of hard... And you got your Minato in! He's so awesome...I love his character.

Well, See Y'all later, and please review. I Heart them so much, even if you tell me how much I suck.

-Fang


	6. Strange Beasts

Hey everyone, Fang here.

OMG! I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long...I really have no excuse except for my own laziness and maybe a term paper...Actually, thanks for all the "Write The Damn Fic" mail, it was probably the only thing that reminded me. If this happens again, please feel free to spam me about it. It works.

Well, here's chapter 6 now, and I hope you enjoy it.

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That weekend, I found out why Nato-nii had delayed his mission. Apparently, the Initiation Ceremony was in two days, to my surprise.

…If Minato had seriously set this all up…sometimes, I think he was too smart for his own good. But, none the less, I and Kakashi were standing in front of the Academy with Hatake-san and Nato-ii on Saturday, with a whole bunch of kids, all sorts of ages. There were some our age, yes, but they were clinging onto their parent's legs and arms, generally trying to make themselves unseen.

I felt a pang of melancholy yearning as I watched them, being reminded of my own parents. I almost desperately tried to pull a happy memory of them out of the deepest reaches of my mind. As usual, not to my surprise, only darkness and blood covered my mind when I tried to recall anything. I shivered.

Minato's hand fell upon my shoulder, and I looked up into his reassuring blue eyes. Somehow, the guy always knew what I was thinking. I smirked in my head; like I said before, Minato-nii was too smart for his own good.

With Minato-nii behind me and Kakashi beside me, I pushed all thoughts of my past out of my mind, and concentrated on what other kids I could find there.

Most of the others were eight or nine, anxiety and excitement in their eyes. I felt so very small.

"Will the applicants please step forward into three lines?" a man wearing the normal chunin outfit was standing in front of the doors to the Academy. I looked at Kakashi. He nodded, and without a look back to Nato-nii or Hatake-san, we walked forward. I already knew that Nato-nii was smiling.

"That's right, three lines, kids!" the man called again, and Kakashi and I fell in behind two older kids. Kakashi was on my right, and I glanced at him. He looked uncomfortable, like he had forgotten something; it was plain on his face. I shot him a questioning look, but he just smiled softly and mouthed 'Don't worry' to me.

"Don't worry, my #!*% …" I muttered as I faced the front. An older man had appeared, and I instantly was paying attention. This was the 3rd Hokage that Nato-nii was always reporting too.

"Welcome, to the Ninja Academy!" the 3rd Hokage smiled broadly, his old face breaking into a wrinkled grin.

The Hokage's speech was long, and meaningful to adults, but most of the kids, but the end of it, were shifting from foot to foot, glancing around at their new peers, looking back at their parents to see when it was going to be over. I sneaked a look at Kakashi. He was staring straight ahead, looking thoroughly engrossed in whatever the 3rd Hokage was still talking about. Again, I marveled at the difference that shone through him with evidence that distinguished him from the whispering four-year-olds around us.

The speech lasted maybe three minutes, but that was long enough for the smaller children to get more than bored. With a flourish of his arms, the Hokage finished, and all chaos broke loose. Kids were running to their friends, their families. Sounds of "congratulations!" and "I'll cook you your favorite meal!" came from all around us. I looked around, searching in the mass for Minato-nii. A hand fell on my shoulder, and I turned around, expecting to see Kakashi's familiar face.

I did not see Kakashi's familiar face. A wall of green was shoved in my own face when I turned. I gave a cry of surprise and looked up.

Another boy was standing there. Right in my face. His hair was cut in a bowl shape, his eyes were smaller than normal, but those eyebrows…they took up half his face! Masking a look of disgust and abnormity, I stepped back from the strange newcomer.

"Um….hi?"

"Hello! My beautiful darling!" he exclaimed. I cheesy grin spread across his face. I stepped back again.

"From the moment I saw you, standing across the room, dazzling in your wonder, I knew that I, Might Gai, was put on this earth for you!"

"Wait…What? Uh, Gai, I think you have the wrong-"

"NO! It is you! Your hair is a ray of sunlight, please, be my one and only!"

I stepped even farther away from him

"No-Wait-What? No, I can't-I'm Freaking four years old! This isn't right!" I sputtered.

"Do not hide your feelings! I know you feel the same!"

Gai bounded forward, and planted a kiss on my cheek.

Everything after that happened in a blur. I know my fist connected with his stomach, and he stumbled back a bit, but a shine of silver made him fly back six feet. Gai landed on the ground, clutching at his nose.

"What? Ah! My nose! My beautiful nose! It's broken! Who is the rascal who dare challenge me, Gai, the Blue Beast of Konoha?"

"Well, I would have to admit that was me, but considering the stupidity of your nickname, I wish I had punched you harder."

Kakashi-kun stood in front of me, his hand balled in another fist, ready for more. Gai-san struggle to stand up, blood flowing from his nose like a faucet.

"You! What might your insignificant name be?"

"Hatake Kakashi."

"How old?"

"Four."

"AHA! I am your superior! I am at the bright age of six, and therefore the rightful boyfriend of the girl! You, young knave, have no right to interfere!"

"I'm not interfering; I'm just stopping you so your mind won't explode with idiocy."

Gai-san's face was turning beet red, and with blood gushing out of his nose, yelled, "Your wit will never out-match mine, either! And further more, hitting me can be considered sacrilege!"

"And I'd do it again, and if you don't shut your trap, I probably will."

I was impressed by his calm confidence of Kakashi's against this strange boy, but I knew it was going to get uglier if this continued.

"Why you!" Gai charged towards Kakashi, blood flowing out behind him from his nose.

I snapped in front of Kakashi with Namikaze speed, (Though definently not as fast as Minato-nii could be on his bad day) and grabbed Gai's fist plunging ahead of him. Using his momentum against him, I moved that fist a fraction to the right, and let go. Gai flew into a bush with a crackle of branches.

Kakashi gave me one of his half-smiles.

"I could have taken him, you know."

"Yeah. That's what I was afraid of." I grinned widely back. Kakashi held out his hand and I took it, molding my small fingers into the crook of his. I took one last look at the bush, hoping that the boy would be alright. Well, a bush was better than a brick wall of a certain Ninja Academy. I reassured myself and was about to try and find Nato-nii, until I felt the presence of a certain tall someone who's shadow tended to cover my entire body. Spiky hair stood on that shadow's head, and I gulped. I already knew who stood behind me.

"Zuri-chaaaaaaaaan….." the voice sent chills up my spine. I didn't turn around.

"Y-Yeah?" I managed.

A tuft of yellow hair touched my cheek as Minato-nii bent his head over my head to whisper in my ear.

"You didn't hurt the poor boy, did you?"

"Ack! Uh….no…"

Minato drew his head back, and I knew behind me he was grinning that grin that could mean anything from "You are in such big trouble, young lady" to "Good, job, now let's go celebrate with ramen".

But, to answer the question of Gai's well-being, after this little nerve-wrecking exchange, he literally leaped out of the bush, and face-planted into the ground in front of us with a thud.

"See, Minato-san? He looks perfectly fine." Kakashi commented dryly.

"Yes!" Gai pushed himself with quite a bit of force off of the ground. Twigs and leaves from the bush were stuck to his green spandex monstrosity that he was wearing and his shiny hair. He looked up at me with fire in his eyes.

"My love! Nothing you could say or do will alter my eternal devotion to you! I will die for you, if need be!"

"Well, I think that's a bit excessive!" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I swear that I will protect you will my life! Please, from the bottom of my heart, be mine!"

My mouth was open. Either this guy was crazy, or way too persistent. Both, of course, was an option as well…

I instinctively inched closer to Kakashi, and clenched his hand tighter.

"Gai, sorry to destroy your premonitions about you and me, but no. I don't even remotely feel the same about you."

Gai-san looked crushed. I searched frantically for an excuse.

"I mean, I guess we can be friends…"

Gai grasped the left side of his chest dramatically and went to obviously pretend to faint, when one of his eyes opened too find Kakashi. He stopped mid-faint, and straightened himself quickly to jab a finger at Kakashi.

"YOU! Young Knave! You are the one for whom she, the flower of my heart, has fallen!"

"What?" I exclaimed.

"Well, think what you'd like, Gai." Kakashi said coolly. I was now more than confused at the two of them, and at the blush now spreading across my face.

"That's that then! From now on, you are my rival! My rival in love and in fight! I will show you that I shall best you in every aspect, and win back this girl's heart in seconds!" Gai finished his little speech with a fist pump to the sky. Kakashi and I just stared at him, still hand in hand; me in embarrassed confusion, Kakashi in blatant skepticism.

"Oooooo, Lover's quarrel…" Minato-nii broke the tension. I turned around and smacked his leg (I'm short, it's the only thing I could reach), but he was already laughing. I grabbed Kakashi's other hand and whipped around, in the direction of home.

"Come on, Kakashi." I took off running, Kakashi in tow. I heard someone call for Gai, but didn't turn around.

"Kazuri! Come on, I was only half-joking! Honestly! Wait up!"

Nato-nii's voice was still laughing. Kakashi was now running beside me, and he glanced at me now.

"Where to?"

I shrugged. "I really don't care…"

He nodded. "Alright then, follow me."

Kakashi now took the lead, and I followed him. He led us though the streets of Konoha, dodging women with shopping baskets and off-duty ninja. Eventually the streets of our village started thinning out; more and more wooded area surrounded us. I glanced up at the sun; I would guess it to be about 5:00 in the afternoon.

"Oi, Kakashi, we almost there?"

"Yep."

We weren't even running on a road now, it was a barely perceptible pat through the enclosing woods in and outside of Konoha. It was just starting to get dark, and the shadows were lengthening. The sun, starting to set on the horizon, was throwing random shades of ambers and purples across the leaves of the trees.

"Here we are." Kakashi slowed his pace to a walk, and I copied him. I could hear the sound of running water ahead of us.

I ended up being right. Kakashi stopped at the bank of a nine-foot-wide creek, and was heading over towards a tree to the left.

"Wow….Hey Kakashi, what's-"

He pulled a rope from one of the lower branches of the tree. I t was already connected and tied to one of the higher branches, and had a couple of knots in it which I realized were footholds.

"…Kakashi…You do realize how cliché this rope thing is? In fact, this whole place-over-the-river-thing is?" I meant it to sound suspicious, but I couldn't keep my little four-year-old grin off my face.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I like clichés, so shut it." He was smiling too. In one flied motion, Kakashi stepped onto the rope and launched himself over the water, landing neatly on the other side, his hair moving in silver ripples in the wind. Once landing, he turned around and tossed it back at me. I caught it, but just barely; the rope was thicker than I expected. I looked down at the calm, rushing water, and back at Kakashi, hands in his pockets, as nonchalant as usual. His deep eyes told a different story, though, one of determination and kindness.

He was waiting for me.

All I needed was to jump.

I grasped the rope tighter, and lifting my feet off the ground, I flew.

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PREVIEW

"Man, Kakashi, this place is really cool!"  
"I had hoped you would really like it. It's ours. All ours. Forever."

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

Once again, I am soo sorry at how long it took to get this chappie up...

But anyway, WOOT! We bring Gai into the story! Ah, Gai, you make me laugh. I was trying to figure out how to kind of correspond some stuff with the actual Naruto story line, and so this idea just kind of popped up. I liked it. I really like humor, and when the story gets too serious, that's the remedy!

Aw, Kakashi...Ever the gentleman...and really sarcastic...I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like him to you, I thought it did. I went back and read the Kakashi Gaiden again to see his sense of humor, and it was extremely dry. So, I made it as dry as I could.

But he is so sweet...(Hugging a plushie of him right now)

Anyway!

Tettsui! I'm glad you liked the Minato/Kazuri bonding time, it was really fun for me to write. And I don't mind it when people pick out errors, I'm usually typing at 70 wpm, and can't catch all of them, so thank you sooo much. See any others? Let me know! And I'm really glad you're hooked on this, and about when Pain killed Kakashi, I sulked for three weeks. I understand your pain...Keep reading, and have fun!

Draco MalfoyGirl 16, what up! I'm glad you like the story, and I intend to write on it for a long while. We're 6 chapters in, and still only just getting into the Academy...(Melts at the amount of story left) Ah, I'll make it through... Enjoy!

RandomNinja239: I will be more than happy to continue! Keep reading and enjoy the mixed up mashed up tribute to awesomer-than-everyone-else-in-the-series Kakashi!

KuraiTheLastLightBender, Your name is so awesome! Anyway, ^_^ well, not everyone knew that Minato would be the fourth Hokate either. I didn't until I found out how he was related to Naruto, so...don't feel bad, now you know! I will try to update as soon as humanly or inhumanly possible, (most likely inhuman. I'm just awesome like that. ^_^)

Well, thank you all for reading so much, tell me if i'm doing a terrible job on this fic, or even if i'm doing a good one. I love reviews! They make my heart happy! So do flames! Keep reading, and if you have a random idea for the fic, I will be more than happy to hear what it is! Tettsui can vouch for me, she suggested chapter 5 for an idea (Thanks a lot, by the way!)

Have, fun, and drink Dr. Pepper, not Pepsi!

-Fang


	7. A Moonlight Wonderland

Hello again! Fang is here! Once again, sorry it took so long (I really need to stop saying that...) but finals and term papers kind of brought me down...

But! Here is chapter 7 of "Shining Darkness" and I hope you think it's cute!

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Landing on the other side of the bank, I almost ran into Kakashi as a misjudgment in force and distance and kinetic energy and other physics-related elements. Sheepish, I handed the rope to him, and he ran to a tree and hid it well. No one would be able to know that the way to get over the creek was hidden in the leaves of two terribly overgrown trees.

Kakashi motioned for me to follow, and disappeared into the trees. I almost tripped over my own feet hurrying to catch up.

The path now was more visible, but more branches covered with soft leaves blocked my view. I was slowly making my way through the trail, making sure not to hit anything, when all of a sudden, Kakashi's hand appeared out of the foliage and grabbed my own which was busy making sure I didn't hit a tree. He pulled gently, and I came out of the maze of bushes.

The sight that awaited me was nothing that I had ever imagined. A small pond lay in the middle of a clearing. A few spotted trees dotted the landscape, their leaves dappled with shades of yellow and red, the beginnings of fall. The water of the pond reflected the endlessness of the sky in shades of maroon and saffron, and now, as the sun was barely to be seen, the new indigos and violets of the evening. The trees around us formed what seemed to be an impenetrable wall against any wind. No leaves rustled, no grass blade quivered. All was still, and silent in this Wonderland.

Glancing up, the moon greeted my face, peeking up out of the trees, chasing the sun to its resting place on the other side of the world. Without a doubt, this was the most wondrous, beautiful, intriguing place I had ever seen.

"Kazuri?" Kakashi's voice broke me out of my trance, and I ran to meet him.

"So, do you like it?" he asked, looking around as if he had just come home. I nodded, walking over to the pond's edge.

"It's so pretty here!" I exclaimed. "Where…How did you find this place?" I touched the water, and the ripples produced wavered my reflection back and forth, shattering the tranquility of the pond. When the tiny waves cleared, Kakashi's face was reflected next to mine. I giggled, and sat down next to him on the edge of the water.

"Actually, Tou-san showed this place to me, like, a week or two ago. He said Mom and him used to come here." He said, looking out over the pond.

"Hey…Kakashi? What happened to your mother?" I knew I was asking a personal question, and I actually didn't even expect an answer. But to my surprise, Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and said, "She died when I was a year, I think. Don't ask me what happened, though. Dad won't tell me."

"Do you even remember her? It didn't happen that long ago…"

Kakashi shrugged again. "Nope. Tou-san doesn't even have any pictures of her."

I looked at him in sympathy. He wasn't looking at me, but out over the tree line at the moon, which had moved a fraction across the sky. His eyes looked so sad…so dark and large, half open…

I scootched closer to him and wrapped my small arms around his lithe body and hugged him tightly. He tensed slightly, but then gave in and embraced me too.

"I'm sorry." I murmured into his shirt.

"You shouldn't be sorry….It wasn't even your fault."

"No, it's just…I'm sorry."

"Still not understanding."

"…Never mind."

I continued to cling to him, and he made no move to move away from me. We sat like that for a long while in peaceful silence. I could feel his warmth, and it engulfed me. The world was bathed in shades of blue reflected by the moon.

I eventually moved out of his embrace and lay down on the soft, blanketing grass, moving one hand behind my head.

"…What are you doing?" Kakashi looked down at me with confusion.

"Looking at the stars."

"Why?"

"Because they're pretty."

He fell back on his back next to me and stared up at the sky.

"…But they're just points of light."

I knocked his arm in play.

"Is that all you see? They aren't that! Nato-nii said that they are con-cons-constellations." I stumbled over the word. Kakashi looked up at the sky again.

"I don't see any of those…"

"You baka! Constellations aren't something that you can see!" I laughed. "Nato-nii said that they're something you have to see with your imagination." I nodded, trying to sound important and smart. Kakashi stared at me, and then at the sky. He tilted his head to the right, and then to the left.

"I still don't see any…" He complained. "What does it look like?" he looked at me questioningly.

I turned my face skyward, feeling more than a bit idiotic.

"Well…I'm not exactly sure…Nato-nii said they were patterns in the skies, but I don't know what he meant."

Kakashi laughed a rare chuckle.

"Minato-san knows quite a lot, huh?"

"He's the smartest man in the world." I said. "You're pretty smart too." I continued, as I smiled and moved closer to him.

"Thanks, I guess."

I lay there, staring at everything I could but him. _Control the urge, control the urge…_I told myself. He wouldn't want me to do it, it was too personal. Boys didn't like it much either, or so I guessed. But that glint of silver in my peripheral vision was making it harder and harder to not ask that question.

"You're pretty special too, you know."

I whipped my head around at him, my urge totally forgotten. Kakashi was calmly looking at the sky, but he moved his eyes to me.

"You aren't like the other kids our age…You think a lot more. You understand what I'm talking about like, chakra, and changes in chakra, and ninjutsu, and well…everything. You can make me feel happy when I'm not. You have crazy ideas that I can't believe that I agree to. I honestly don't know what the heck I'd be doing without you."

"…I don't think that I could see myself like that…"

"Well, you should. You're a nice person, Kazuri-san."

I looked at him carefully and more than a little self-consciously. I had the perfect thing to say, the thing that was so brilliant yet so humbling.

"Can I touch your hair?"

… #!*% . That was not what I wanted to say. And that, of all things! Why? Why, Kazuri, why? That was a secret urge, you were never supposed to actually ask it…

Kakashi was looking at me with incredulity and laughter in his eyes.

"You wanna touch my hair? I pour out all this amazing stuff about you, to you, and you want to touch my hair?" Kakashi had his smirk on his face. "Maybe I should add 'blonde' to that list."

"No! I mean-what I meant-was-it just slipped out! I – mean-"

I turned from him quickly, two spots of read I knew were appearing on my cheeks.

"I mean, you can if you want to.."

I whipped around, embarrassment totally forgotten.

"Really?"

Kakashi sat up, laughing even harder.

"Maybe I should put down ADD as well…"

I pushed myself up on my butt, slightly annoyed.

"Look, I don't even know what blonde or ADD is, so quiet. But… seriously, can I?"

He shook his head in disbelief, and bent down a bit. Not even in my awesomest dreams had I imagined this. My hand went up instinctively, stopping just short of his silver hair. It looked so soft, so shiny, so perfect, that I hesitated.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes! For the last time…" His body was shaking from controlled laugher. I finally gave in.

His hair was soft, so smooth I could hardly believe it. It was like sticking my hand in a river of silver water. The moonlight was turning his hair an almost metallic blue. Even as I ran my hand through it trying to make it stay up, it flopped back down to the left.

"Wow….why does it do that?"

"How do I know? Dad's does it too…Just not as much."

"It's so awesome…"

"I still don't see your fascination with my hair."

I rolled my eyes and continued petting his hair.

"It's a girl thing. Don't expect you to understand."

His hair looked like it was made for this time of day, the transition period of light to dark. It almost glowed in the moonlight.

A few seconds later, Kakashi rolled out of my hands, and lay on the ground once again.

"Sorry…" I murmured, feeling a bit crushed.

"No! I just needed to lie down before I get a kink in my neck."

Well, I didn't want to look like an idiot just standing there, so I plopped onto the grass too.

I yawned unconsciously, my body only now feeling the weight of the day.

Kakashi smirked. "Getting tired?"

I nodded, and with my eyelids growing heavier, I snuggled up to him, laying my head on his chest.

"Kinda."

"Me too. You want to head home?"

I didn't answer, but wrapped my arm around his torso, and let my other drift into his hair. Kakashi laid his chin on my head and hugged me.

"Kazuri-san? Are you listening, Kazuri-san?"

"Don't call me that."

"Huh?"

"Don't call me Kazuri-san. It's too formal." I said, my eyes still closed.

"…Alright…what do you want then?"

"Don't care…" my voice getting softer as sleep began to take me. Kakashi hugged me tighter.

"Zuri-kun?"

I smiled sleepily.

"Kashi-kun…"

The two children fell asleep in each other's arms in that small clearing, life virtually perfect to their minds. And it was. About to enter the Academy, begin their lives as full-fledged ninja, and live defending their village. But, as life often is, things never are as they seem. Factions and beasts are moving, and the prologue of this recount is over. Trials of innumerable count will face Kakashi and Kazuri, testing them to the very seams of their ability. It is not know if either will survive. But the prologue is over.

The prologue is over, and the story is only beginning.

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PREVIEW

He hit the floor, completly messing up the bed, and I heard a muffled cry of alarm through the blankets.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

Well, thank you for reading. And if you're scared at how long this is going to be, please don't be...Yes, it may take some time, but please bear with me through this, and it will be worth your while.

Anyway! I hope this was cute...I wanted something sweet to end this chapter on...the whole 'touch Kakashi's hair thing' is a secret dream of my own...I mean, come on! Why does it look so good and soft when you can't touch it? ^_^

Yellow, Tettsui! I'm glad that people are getting what I'm trying to do with the Minato/Kazuri relationship, and I'm so happy that you hit it dead on ^_^. And with the whole Kakashi and Gai thing...well, I had to start it somehow! This was the only way, and I liked the idea of a lover's quarrel. It'll be great coming soon, don't worry! Oh yeah, and I'm glad you like my writing style, since this is the first serious story I've tried to write. Keep Loving and Keep Reading! Kakashi forever!

Hey, EmilyMichelle01! Glad you Love Love Love this fic! Also glad that you got an account! Fanfiction is Awesome! The whole parallel of Kazuri/Gai and Lee/Sakura was just what I was trying to do. Thanks for picking up on that! And yes, I'm REALLY glad you thought it was cute that Kakashi was protecting Kazuri! I mean, she can definentely hold her own, but every once in a while, someone needs a hero. Keep reading! Thanks for reviewing!

Yo, Fyen! Glad you liked the chapter! While I was writing it, I thought it was supposed to be cute, but I'm not really a good judge of my own work...so I'm glad that you thought it was! I will try to keep up the good work, for as long as this fic goes on! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Well, get ready for more, folks. Now that winter break is here, expect many more updates now that I have time to write! There will be muchd arker chapters coming up, especially the one I'm writing ahead of time... (Hey, inspiration calls at the randomness of times!)

Please review...please...(getting down on my knees) I really appreciate them a lot, don't get me wrong...and Critism! I don't know what my faults are in my writing, (And no one's telling me...so I'm assuming I'm doing ok...) but any review at all is great! It just takes a minute...or two...

Well, anyway, thanks for sticking with me this far, and hope you continue to in the future! Luv Ya All! GO KAKASHI! ( just had to get something like that in here...)

-Fang


	8. A Next To Normal Life

Hey, guys, Fang here. I'm so so so sorry that something went wrong with the last time i tried to post this chapter! Here, I made it longer to compensate...

Please enjoy this chapter as I smack myself on the head for biffing this up for you...T_T forgive me...

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"Kazuri! Kakashi! Come on, get up!"

I moaned and sat up slowly, pushing myself off the pillow. The room was still dark, but Sakumo-san was already calling. I scratched my head, my hand snagging on a tangle in my hair. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and looked beside me.

Kakashi was rolled on his side, still all but buried in blankets.

Now, I'm a pretty fast one at waking up, but Kakashi was a different matter. It took literal force to pry him out of bed. Some days it took sunlight, others an actual crowbar was necessary. It had become a normal ritual.

I grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and shrugged him gently. He gave an incomprehensible moan and didn't move. I shrugged him a bit harder. Still no response.

I brought my face closer to his ear and said, "Wake up, Kashi-kun."

…Yes. That worked so well. I smacked his head twice in play. Still…nothing.

I huffed. This one was gonna have to take some extra effort on my part.

Smiling only a little mischievously, I kneeled on the bed and reached over him and grabbed a hold of the window string that held the shutter closed. With one quick jerk, I pulled that restricting string, and the blinds zoomed upward. Sunlight burst through into the room, and lit up the darkness.

It also coincidentally hit Kakashi's eyes, and was totally not planned at all…I giggled. He gave a cry of surprise and annoyance as he squinted his eyes shut and dove down under the blankets. I grabbed them and pulled, but his hold was to strong. I sat back and leaned against the window-sill.

Finally, I just gathered all of my strength, and shoved him blankets and all, off the bed.

He hit the floor, completely messing up the bed, and I heard a muffled cry of alarm through the blankets. I laughed hard, rolling on the now unmade bed as I watched Kakashi try to untangle himself from the blankets. His head appeared out of the covers.

"Zuri!" He yelled, laughter mixed with annoyance in his voice, fully awake now. I grinned so hard I almost split my lip.

"You're going to pay for this!" He had his torso out, and I knew it was definently time to start running. Still giggling, I sprung off the bed and sprinted out the door, Kakashi already on my heels.

"There is no way you're getting away with that this time!" I heard Kakashi yell. I gasped for breath trying to run and laugh at the same time. Swerving into another corridor, I formed my hands into a sign. A shadow-clone poofed silently next to me, and took off into Kakashi's sight as I ran to the stairs and jumped down them five at a time. Landing nimbly onto the wooden floor boards without so much of a squeak, I tiptoed to the door to the living room and opened it.

A shock of silver crashed into my view and Kakashi knocked my backwards onto the floor. He pinned my arms to my sides and leaned over me, a smirk playing over his face.

"You didn't seriously think that that shadow clone was enough to fool me?"

"Well, it was worth a shot…"

"This is our fastest time ever. Surely you have something else up your sleeve?"

"Don't look now, Kashi!"

I pricked my finger on the edge of my kunai hidden inside my pajama sleeve and touched the kanji. I saw Kakashi's eyes widen and his mouth form a silent ' #!*% ' before the room zipped around me and I was lying in the middle of the kitchen. Sakumo-san was staring down at me.

"Is this your win?"

"Maybe?" I shrugged. I heard Kakashi's quick steps running towards the kitchen, and I shoved myself off the floor. I jumped onto Sakumo-san's arm and climbed up him. He protested and laughed, but I got to his shoulders and sat on them just as Kashi-kun rushed in.

"Zuri! That's cheating! Warping is not allowed!"

I was laughing so hard I almost toppled off Sakumo-san's shoulders.

"Well, it got you up, right?"

Kakashi scowled, and now even Sakumo-san was laughing heartily. I hopped off of his shoulders and wrapped Kakashi in a hug. He resisted at first, but relented and returned the gesture.

"Alright, you two, go get ready. The Academy doesn't wait, and the Graduation Exam certainly doesn't!"

I hurried up the stairs with Kakashi right behind me.

It had been a year since Kashi-kun and I entered the Academy, both of us now at the ripe old age of five. Turns out he was about three months older than I , and he often liked to tell me that he was my senior and I should address him as "Kakashi-senpai", but those little remarks seemed to just earn him a pillow in the kisser.

Anyway, as it is easy to tell, I was definently one of the family. About four months ago, Sakumo-san said that if I kept calling him "Hatake-san" anymore, he wouldn't speak or answer me. He was a father to me, no doubt about that in either of our minds. I trusted him as much as any other person in my life.

But even more that Sakumo-san, was my brother. Nato-nii and I were still more than inseparable. I saw him even more often than before the Academy. He always came to pick Kakashi and I up from the Academy, and would often take me to a training ground to test me on what I had learned. On some occasions, Kakashi would tag along, but often times he would head home and train with his father, if he wasn't on a mission. Those training sessions were almost always the highlight of my day. Sure, I usually came home with more than a couple bruises and scuff marks, (mostly from Nato-nii's what he liked to call 'educational love') but I'm pretty sure that I learned much more from him than I usually did at the Academy.

The Academy! I totally forgot! I stopped daydreaming and ran into my 'room'. Ok, maybe it was more of a place where I stashed my ninja tools and weapons. All my clothes were shoved in there too. And yes, I loved clothes. I'm a girl. It's almost a prerequisite. Sakumo-san loved playing off this love, constantly buying me more clothes than I knew what to do with. But like every other ninja in this village, I kept all those for weekends and days off, and had a set outfit for every other day: comfortable to work in, easy to move in, and yet, still stylish. (Don't judge me! I'm a girl!) Normally, this consisted of a black skirt a little above knee length and slit up the sides, with black spandex shorts underneath. A red, durable sleeveless vest with the Namikaze flame sewn on in yellow to the right breast pocket and the back of the garment was the major focus of the outfit. Completing it was a black tank under that jacket, and may I say extremely cute ninja boots, about calf-length.

I got dressed, and ran to the bathroom to attempt to do something with my hair. Most times, I just pulled it back into a messy ponytail, and today was no different. I hopped down the stairs, just about completely ready, grabbing my butt-pouch and kunai-holder hanging on the banister. I turned the corner at full speed to find Kakashi ready and finished, and already leaning against the wall looking bored.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long…" he drawled, turning his lazy eyes on me. I huffed, trying to quickly jam on my gear.

"Oh, like your outfit takes no time to get on?" I said. He looked down at himself and shrugged. "Pretty much."

Kakashi had taken to wearing a long sleeved dark blue shirt, one light blue stripe running down each arm. His pants were standard issue dark blue, mid calf to below ankle wrapped. Regular ninja shoes, of course, and for finishing touches, a rather thick strap that looped over one shoulder and came across and down his torso to connect with the other end behind his back. He often carried his few pouches on this strap for convenience's sake.

I straightened up and grabbed his arm, pulling him out the door.

"Come one, Kashi-kun, we're going to be late!"

I waved goodbye to Sakumo-san as Kakashi gently wrenched his arm away form my grasp as we began speeding down in a bee-line to the Academy.

"Probably, but this will more than definently be your fault this time…"

I glared at him, but was running to hard to respond with something witty.

Ten minutes later, we were at the front of the Academy. We didn't stop to catch our breaths; one look at my watch told us we only had two minutes left. Instead, we both sped up as we raced against the clock.

1:28 – We rounded the corner of the 'main office' of the building, and in doing so got some looks and 'they're up to it again' faced from the chunin in charge.

0:58 – I was huffing my way up the second flight of stairs, Kakashi right beside me. We'd gotten good at jumping up three to four steps at a time.

0:27 – I was literally feeling burning in my legs, but our hallway was in sight.

0:07 – Our door came into sight as Kakashi hooked onto my arm and pulled me as I started slowing.

0:03 – Kakashi's hand reached for the door knob.

0:01 – I shoved the door as the handle turned.

The bell rang as we flew through the door, landing near the sensei's desk in a pile. Gasping for breath with Kakashi on top of me, I glanced at Tatsaro-sensei. He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking down at us, but said, "No, you two can't be counted late."

Kakashi and I visibly relaxed. We had made it.

To the stares and whispers of our fellow classmates, we both rose form our position on the floor, Kakashi rising like a well-trained wolf, all majestic and well-groomed, while I lurched up like a startled puppy and nearly brained myself on the under edge of Tatsaro-sensei's desk. I quickly followed Kakashi to our seats in the front of the class.

My feet didn't even touch the floor when I sat down. Actually, Kakashi and I were the youngest ones there. Almost all of the kids were twelve or so. This strange occurrence was only because the classes for our ages were easily passed by us. Kakashi and I were graduating today along with kids who had been there five times as long as we had. So we were even more freakish than before. Really smart, freakish five-year olds.

Of course, Kakashi didn't seem to notice any of this, or he just didn't care.

"Alright kids. When you hear your name called, please exit the room and enter the next door on your left." Tatsaro-sensei's voice droned, before calling out the first name. A tall boy in a head wrap stood up and began walking nervously towards the door.

"At the end of the exam, there will be a short recess before all who pass receive their headbands."

Most of my peers cheered at that. I just wanted to get this over with. Kakashi nudged me.

"Hey, no backing up on this one, remember?" He whispered. I nodded glumly; tests were not at the top of my fun list.

About twenty minutes later, Hatake Kakashi was called. I squeezed his hand and mouthed, 'Good luck' to him. He gave me a rare grin and calmly walked out the door.

My head smashed against my desk, and I gave out a sigh. With Kakashi gone, the butterflies in my stomach began to finally act up, forcing their way into my throat. My mind began to race through any and all techniques I could possibly need for this test. Doppelganger, Transformation, Substitution, small elemental style my brother had been teaching me, and his Flying Thunder God Jutsu (Scaled down version, of course), anything. My mind was flying in circles; what if I didn't pass? What if Kakashi did? Well, of course he did, he's Kakashi, and like Minato, could do anything. Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man,…

I felt a poke on my shoulder and whipped around to see Kakashi standing behind me. He jerked his head towards the door in a gesture that meant my turn.

Shaking on the inside but gathering strength on the out, I gave Kashi-kun one of the famous Minato-smiles, and walked towards my impeding doom.

* * *

PREVIEW

As Kakashi and I walked to what constituted as a school yard at the Academy, three sets of footsteps and one voice yelling "Kakashi, Kazuri, Wait up!"stopped us in our tracks.

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AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

Once again, I am SOOO Sorry about that false start! I feel so terrible...

Well, to take my mind off of it...

Heya, Tettsui! Good, I was hoping for cute. And I'm pretty sure any Kakashi fan wants to touch his hair, I mean seriously, HOW does his hair do that? One of the greatest mysteries of life...And thanks for the writing critique, hopefully I caught all the typos in this one...Thanks also for the compliments on my writing style, it meant quite a lot to me! I shall continue to do the best I can! Go Kakashi!

What up, MitternachtDressage! Lol, I can't wait either, since I havent thought that far ahead. This section will probably go to the end of the chunin exams and a bit further, and then another time skip. They'll be adults before you know it, and BIG stuff is gonna happen, but I can't spoil it, sorry! Just keep reading, just keep reading, just keep reading, reading, reading, what do we do, we read...read. (Sorry, just finished watching Finding Nemo...^_^)

EmilyMichele01, Awesome to hear from you! I'm So Glad I got the cuteness across! That makes my heart happy...And there's another fan of Kakashi's hair! It's the most amazing thing ever! (Second is Lavi from d. gray man...His is cool too...) Thanks for the compliment about my writing, they keep me writing for you guys! And yeah...I'm not saying anything about the "Might not survive" thing...It would ruin the whole point of the story! ^_^ Patience is a virtue...

I hope to keep writing as often as possible, and I'm sorry about the whole 'whoops, deleted the chapter' part...won't happen again! I was busy on my stand-alone story, of which the first chapter is posted on my profile.(My sadly unupdated profile...I'll fix that!)

Thanks for the reviews, and please send more! I like it when people like my writing...I write for the people! (Fist pump) Yeah! GO TEAM KAKASHI!

-Fang


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